The invention relates to a braking retardation apparatus for doors or the like consisting of a push rod which can be pressed into a housing against a braking force.
Brake retardation or absorption apparatuses of this type are used, for example, for the braking of doors and in particular of furniture doors just before their closed positions in order to brake the impact effect and to ensure the smoothest possible closing. Brake retardation apparatuses are used in particular when the doors and furniture doors are provided with closing devices which press them into their closed positions and hold them therein. Brake retardation apparatuses of the type given can, however, also be used for other parts, in particular furniture parts, for example drawers or flaps, to prevent these from reaching or impacting their end positions with force and disturbing noise.
From DE 197 17 937 A1 a brake and absorption element for moving furniture parts of the type first given is known where the housing consists of a cylinder-like sleeve and the push rod of a piston movable and spreadable in a radial direction therein, with the air contained in the cylinder cavity being compressed therein by pressing in the piston, with the piston being designed in such a way that the compressed air effects a radial spreading of the piston and thus its rubbing on the interior wall of the sleeve.
It is the object of the invention to provide a simply designed and easy-to-operate brake retardation apparatus of the type first given.
In accordance with the invention this object is solved by the push rod being movable in guides of the housing and possessing a section consisting of a gear rack which meshes with the pinion of a rotary shock absorber held in the housing.
Rotary shock absorbers of this type are known and commercially available. They normally consist of a shaft supported in a closed cylindrical housing which shaft carries a radially projecting plate or wing-like plates in the housing, which strokes over plates or projections in a fixed position relative to the housing in a non-contact manner, with a highly viscous fluid, for example silicone oil, being filled in the sealed housing. The pinion is set on a shaft journal led out of the housing. In accordance with a preferred embodiment it is provided that the push rod is acted upon by a spring in the push-out direction. Here, the spring can be designed to be so weak that it cannot overcome the retaining force of a closing device of a door.
Appropriately, the braking torque of the rotary shock absorber only acts in the push-in direction. Such rotary shock absorbers are also known. In these, the pinion is connected to the shaft carrying the wings by, for example, a freewheel acting in the push-out direction. In the closed state of the door, the rotary shock absorber exerts no action because the braking torque only occurs when there is a relative movement of the components.
The push rod can be guided in boreholes or passages of housing walls opposite each other. Appropriately, the spring consists of a compression spring enclosing a section of the push rod and clamped between the rear housing wall and the gear rack.
In accordance with another embodiment the object is solved by the push rod being the piston rod of a piston guided movably in a cylinder, by the cylinder being filled with a fluid, e.g. oil, and by the piston being provided with a throughway valve which opposes the extension of the piston with only a low resistance and the insertion with a high resistance, by a compression spring being clamped between the piston and the cylinder bottom and by a head being set on the piston rod.
The valve can, for example, consist of a flap valve or an annular valve body which expose a large borehole cross-section or a large cross-section of an opening of the piston when the piston extends and which, when the piston is pushed in, reach their closed positions in which only a small opening is revealed for the fluid which opening restricts the fluid for the generation of the braking effect.
Appropriately, the head consists of a cushion of elastomeric material so that the door impacts the piston rod with low noise and the cushion forms a buffer which thanks to its soft resilience does not damage the door.
In another aspect of the invention it is provided that the cylinder is fitted in a blind borehole, e.g. on the front side of a top panel of a cupboard and is supported on the head of a screw screwed into a thread of a sleeve located at the bottom of the blind borehole. By screwing in or unscrewing, the brake retardation apparatus can therefore be adjusted to the closing position of the door.
Appropriately, the borehole is fitted into a sleeve provided with a flange. This sleeve lines the outer edge region of the borehole and extends over the borehole edge with its flange. In the pressed-in state of the push rod, the head set on the piston rod then lies in this sleeve.
Another object of the invention comprises providing a braking apparatus for doors, windows or moving furniture parts, e.g. drawers, consisting of a push rod which can be pushed against a braking or absorbing force into a housing or cylinder, which braking apparatus is mounted in a particularly effective manner without creating an irritating appearance.
This object is solved in accordance with the invention by the housing or the cylinder being fixed to the front side of a frame, e.g. a rail, a top panel or a side panel of a cupboard, which is protruded over by the push rod provided with a fitted head.
In another aspect of the invention, the brake retardation apparatus in accordance with the invention can be fixed in a largely obscured manner not creating an irritating appearance to a position on a frame which is the closing frame for a door, a window, a drawer or the like.
Preferably the push rod and the housing or the cylinder possess one or more features of the type described above.
With pivotable furniture parts, for example, doors or flaps, the braking apparatus can be mounted at such a distance from the hinge side that it ensures a good braking effect and that the braking force of the braking apparatus is adapted in an optimum manner to the closing torque of the pivotable furniture part.